Flight planners expand their online trip-support services
Going forward, Stephens said satellite communications will help, too, for example by allowing on-board WiFi to give broadband Internet access via SwiftBroa

Going forward, Stephens said satellite communications will help, too, for example by allowing on-board WiFi to give broadband Internet access via SwiftBroadband. Universal also is working to integrate with third-party scheduling software “so that clients can run a flight plan within our software and then upload it to their aircraft.”

Advantages of powerful trip-support software include automatic validation of all the parameters–for example, ensuring compliance with regulations and permits, 24-hour access, using previously stored trips to create new ones, and the ability to handle last-minute changes more easily. This is the theory anyway, and the companies producing the software are working hard to make their products the one-stop solution that their clients clearly want.